Lateral awning arm bracket with horizontal adjustment



April 7, 1959 A R. F. BECKSTETT 2,880,956

LATERAL wumc ARM BRACKET WITH HORIZONTAL ADJUSTMENT Filed April 5'. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. Rzlperfi EBeclzslett BY QWX W ATTORNEYS April 7, 1959 R. F. BECKSTETT LATERAL AWNING ARM BRACKET WITH HORIZONTAL ADJUSTMENT Filed April 5. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 T; l -ll Fig.7

- I \LFI i United States Patent LATERAL AWNING ARM BRACKET WITH HORIZONTAL ADJUSTMENT Rupert F. Beckstett, Rocky River, Ohio, assignor to The Astrup Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 5, 1956, Serial No. 576,340

3 Claims. (Cl. 248-273) The invention relates to awning arm brackets for lateral awnings of the general type shown in Heiser Patents No. 1,915,529, dated June 27, 1933, and No. 2,038,045, dated April 21, 1936, and has particular reference to improved means for horizontal adjustment of awning arm brackets of the general type of Heiser Patent No. 1,922,764, dated August 15, 1933.

Hanger brackets of this general type are mounted upon a wall or other support and include an integral arm portion projecting outwardly a considerable distance from the support, and carrying a hinge bolt upon which the lateral folding awning arms are hung.

In the installation of an awning of this type, it is essential that the hinge bolts be positioned in exact vertical alignment so that the lateral folding arms to which the awning is swiveled will, in folding, traverse parallel paths preventing binding or dragging of the awning and providing free and easy operation thereof.

In said Heiser Patent No. 1,922,764 this adjustment was accomplished by pivotally mounting the awning arm bracket upon a wall or other support and securing the bracket to the support by clamping bolts, bushings being rotatable about each of said bolts permitting limited pivotal movement of the bracket in an arcuate path, in one position, and in another position preventing movement of the bracket, and means for locking said rotatable bushings against rotation.

While such means provided a limited horizontal adjustment of the lateral awning arms, the same was difficult to operate as it required adjustment of the entire bracket, making it very difficult to accurately adjust the lateral awning arm to the exact position required.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an awning arm bracket having a horizontal adjustment of the hinge bolt relative to the bracket, which overcomes the dilficulties and disadvantages of present practice.

Another object is to provide an awning arm bracket of this character comprising a wall bracket, an arm mounting bracket mounted upon the wall bracket, a hinge bolt carried by the arm bracket for pivotally mounting an awning arm for lateral swinging movement on the arm bracket and means upon the arm bracket for adjusting the position of the hinge bolt thereon in order to horizontally adjust the awning arm.

A further object is to provide such an awning arm bracket in which the arm mounting bracket is pivotally mounted for movement in a substantially vertical plane upon the wall bracket, with means for moving the arm bracket about the pivot to adjust the angularity of the awning arms.

Still another object is to provide an awning arm bracket of this type in which the hinge bolt is pivotally connected at its upper end to the arm mounting bracket, the lower end of the hinge bolt being located through a block slidably mounted in the arm mounting bracket, an adjusting screw being rotatably connected to said block and threaded through a tapped bore in the arm mounting Hce bracket, a lock nut being provided upon said adjusting screw for locking the hinge bolt in adjusted position.

A still further object is to provide such an awning arm bracket in which the arm mounting bracket is pivotally mounted upon the wall bracket with means for moving the same around its pivot and locking it in adjusted position, and in which the hinge bolt is pivotally mounted at one end in the arm mounting bracket with means for moving the other end of the hinge bolt and for locking it in adjusted position.

The above objects together with others which will be apparent from the drawings and following description, or which may be later referred to, may be attained by constructing the awning arm bracket in the manner shown in the drawings and hereinafter described in detail.

The invention may be stated in general terms as comprising a wall bracket adapted to be rigidly attached to a wall or other support, the wall bracket including an integral arm portion projecting outwardly from the support, an arm mounting backet being pivotally mounted upon the projecting arm of the wall bracket.

The arm bracket has a journal portion rotatably mounted within a bearing opening in the outwardly projecting arm portion of the wall bracket, and is provided upon its inner end with spaced teeth or projections for engaging similar projections upon a clamping plate which is attached thereto by a bolt, an adjusting bolt being connected to said clamping plate for rotating it to adjusted position, after which 'the adjusting bolt is locked in adjusted position by a lock nut.

Spaced upper and lower ears are provided upon the outer side of the arm mounting bracket, the upper ear having an enlarged aperture therein, within which the upper end of a hinge bolt is loosely or pivotally mounted, the lower ear having a longitudinal slot therein within which is slidably mounted a block attached to the lower end of the hinge bolt, a nut being mounted upon the lower end of the hinge bolt for locking it in adjusted position, an adjusting screw being rotatably connected to said sliding block and threaded through a tapped bore in the lower ear of the arm mounting bracket and a lock nut being provided upon said adjusting screw.

Having now briefly described the invention, reference is made to the acompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment thereof, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of an awning arm bracket embodying the invention, showing a portion of a lateral awning arm connected thereto and located in folded position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the awning arm bracket, showing the left side thereof as viewed in Fig. 1, illustrating the means for pivotally adjusting the arm mounting bracket relative to the wall bracket;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the means for adjusting the hinge bolt upon the arm mounting bracket, taken as on the line 33, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section through the bracket, taken as on the line 4-4, Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section, taken as on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a detached perspective view of the arm mounting bracket; and,

Fig. 7 is a detached perspective view of the clamping plate for the arm mounting bracket and the adjusting means therefor.

Reference is now made to the embodiment of the invention illustrated, in which similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings. The improved awning arm bracket comprises generally the wall bracket 10, having spaced apertures 11 therein for receiving bolts or the like for attaching the bracket to a wall or other support.

The bracket is provided with the outwardly projecting integral arm portion 12. The arm mounting bracket 13 is pivotally mounted upon the rigid arm 12 of the wall bracket, being located perpendicular thereto as best shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

For the purpose of pivotally mounting the arm mounting bracket 13 upon the arm 12 of the wall bracket, the same is provided at its inner end with a journal portion 14 rotatably mounted within the bearing opening 15 in the outwardly projecting arm 12 of the wall bracket.

Spaced teeth or lugs 16 are formed upon the inner end of the arm mounting bracket 13 for engagement with similar teeth or lugs 17 upon the adjustable clamping plate 18. The clamping plate 18 is adapted to be clamped in adjusted position to the arm mounting bracket 13 by means of a bolt 19 located through the central openings 20 and 21 in the arm mounting bracket 13 and the clamping plate 18 respectively, a clamping nut 23 being provided upon the bolt for clamping the parts together as best shown in Fig. 4. The bolt 19 is provided with a square head 19a received in the square enlargement 20a of the central aperture 20 in the journal portion 14 of the arm mounting bracket 13.

Means for moving the arm mounting bracket 13 about the pivot to adjust the angularity of the awning arm, may include a bolt 24 rotatably mounted in a lug 25 on the rigid arm 12 of the wall bracket, and screwed through a stud 26 upon the adjustable clamping plate 18, a lock nut 27 being provided upon the bolt 24 for locking it in adjusted position.

Spaced vertical flanges 28 are integrally formed upon the outer side of the journal portion 14 of the arm mounting bracket and the integral outwardly disposed ears 29 and 30 are formed at the upper and lower ends thereof respectively.

The upper ear 29 is provided with a substantially central aperture 31 communicating at its upper end with the square socket 32 formed in the top of said ear. An elongated slot 33 is formed in the lower car 30, and the block 34 is slidably mounted therein. This block is provided with a vertical aperture 35 which receives the reduced lower end 36 of the hinge bolt 37, the upper end of which is pivotally or loosely mounted through the aperture 31 in the upper ear 29, said aperture being of larger diameter than the hinge bolt 37 as best illustrated in Fig. 4, so as to permit pivotal or swinging movement of the hinge bolt within the aperture. The square head 38 of the hinge bolt is received within the squared socket 32 in the top of the upper ear 29.

A nut 39 is mounted upon the threaded lower end 40 of the hinge bolt. An adjusting bolt 41 is threaded through the tapped bore 42 in the outer end of the lower ear 30 of the arm mounting bracket 13, the inner end thereof being rotatably swiveled to the slidable block 34, as indicated at 43 in Fig. 4.

With this construction, it will be seen that when the nut 39 upon the lower end of the hinge bolt 37 is loosened, rotation of the adjusting bolt 41, by means of a wrench or other tool applied to the squared end 44 thereof, will cause the block 34 to be moved longitudinally Within the slot 33 of the lower car 30 of the arm mounting bracket, moving with it the lower end of the hinge bolt 37, the upper end thereof pivoting within the enlarged aperture 31 in the upper car 29 of the arm mounting bracket, thus moving the hinge bolt 37 as from the full line position to the broken line position shown in Fig. 1.

When the hinge bolt 37 is adjusted to desired position, it may be locked in adjusted position by tightening the locknut 45 upon the adjusting bolt 41 in the position shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 6.

A portion of the inner arm of a lateral folding awning arm of the general type shown in Heiser Patents No. 1,915,529 and No. 2,038,045, is indicated at 46 in Fig. 1. This awning arm is provided with hinge knuckle portions 47 hingcdly mounting the arm 46 upon the hinge, bolt 37 As in usual practice in awnings of this type, a roller (not shown) on which the awning fabric is rolled, is positioned on the building wall in a well known manner and a rod or pole (not shown) to which the forward edge of the awning fabric is secured, is swiveled on the forward end of the outer arm (not shown) of the lateral folding awning arm.

The inner and outer arms of the lateral folding awning arm are hinge connected together as in usual practice, and when the awning fabric is rolled upon the roller, these inner and outer arms are folded laterally in the manner disclosed in detail in said Heiser patents above referred to.

The bracket mechanism disclosed herein is provided with the above described adjusting means for easily and readily adjusting the position of the hinge bolt 37 so that the lateral folding awning arms to which the awning is secured, will be properly positioned.

The hinge bolt 37 may be adjusted in a vertical plane perpendicular to the wall or other support upon which the bracket is mounted, after which the nuts 23 and 27 are tightened holding the arm mounting bracket 13 in the adjusted position.

In order to horizontally adjust the lateral folding awning arm, with the arm in folded position against the awning roller, proper horizontal adjustment can easily be made by loosening the nuts 45 and 39.

The adjusting bolt 41 is then turned, by a wrench applied to the square end 44 thereof, lowering or raising the awning arm 46 as shown in full lines and dotted lines respectively in Fig. 1, until the arm is parallel with the roller. The lock nut 45 is then tightened and the nut 39 is tightened, securely holding the awning arm in proper adjusted position.

From the above it will be obvious that the improved awning arm bracket with horizontal adjustment is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easily and readily operated to provide proper adjustment of the awning arms, and that it provides means for locking the parts in adjusted position.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiments of the improved construction illustrated and described herein are by way of example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact details of construction.

Having now described the invention or discovery, the construction, the operation, and use of preferred embodiments thereof, and the advantageous new and useful results obtained thereby, the new and useful construction, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a lateral folding arm awning construction, a wall bracket for attachment to a support, an integral outwardly projecting arm portion on said wall bracket, said arm portion having a bearing opening therein, an arm mounting bracket having a journal portion journalled in said bearing portion, a concentric circular series of spaced teeth upon the inner end of said journal portion, a clamp ing plate having a circular series of spaced teeth adjustably engaging the teeth upon the journal portion, a clamping bolt located axially through said journal portion and said clamping plate for locking them together in adjusted position, a stud upon said clamping plate, an adjusting screw threaded through said stud, a lug upon said arm portion, there being a slot in said lug through which said adjusting screw is located, a nut upon saidadjusting screw engaging said lug for angularly adjusting said arm mounting bracket, a hinge bolt pivotally connected at one end to said arm mounting bracket, a lateral folding awning arm hingedly mounted upon said hinge bolt, and means for moving said hinge bolt upon its pivot in an upright plane perpendicular to the normal plane of the arm mounting bracket for vertically adjusting the awning arm.

2. In a lateral folding arm awning construction, a wall bracket for attachment to a support, an integral outwardly projecting arm portion on said wall bracket, said arm portion having a bearing opening therein, an arm mounting bracket having a journal portion journalled in said bearing portion, a concentric circular series of spaced teeth upon the inner end of said journal portion, a clamping plate having a circular series of spaced teeth adjustably engaging the teeth upon the journal portion, a clamping bolt located axially through said journal portion and said clamping plate for locking them together in adjusted position, a stud upon said clamping plate, an adjusting screw threaded through said stud, a lug upon said arm portion, there being a slot in said lug through which said adjusting screw is located, a nut upon said adjusting screw engaging said lug for angularly adjusting said arm mounting bracket, spaced upper and lower ears upon the arm mounting bracket, an upright hinge bolt pivotally connected at its upper end to the upper ear, a lateral folding awning arm hingedly mounted upon said hinge bolt, and means upon the lower ear operatively connected to the lower end of the hinge bolt for moving said hinge bolt upon its pivot in an upright plane perpendicular to the normal plane of the arm mounting bracket for vertically adjusting the awning arm.

3. In a lateral folding arm awning construction, a wall bracket for attachment to a support, an integral outwardly projecting arm portion on said wall bracket, said arm portion having a bearing opening therein, an arm mounting bracket having a journal portion journalled in said bearing portion, a concentric circular series of spaced teeth upon the inner end of said journal portion, a clamping plate having a circular series of spaced teeth adjustably engaging the teeth upon the journal portion, a clamping bolt located axially through said journal portion and said clamping plate for locking them together in adjusted position, a stud upon said clamping plate, an adjusting screw threaded through said stud, a lug upon said arm portion, there being a slot in said lug through which said adjusting screw is located, a nut upon said adjusting screw engaging said lug for angularly adjusting said arm mounting bracket, spaced upper and lower ears on the arm mounting bracket, there being an aperture in the upper ear and an elongated slot in the lower car, an upright hinge bolt of smaller diameter than said aperture, the upper end of the hinge bolt being pivotally mounted in said aperture, a block slidably located in said elongated slot, the lower end of the hinge bolt being located through said block, a nut threaded upon the lower end of the hinge bolt for locking the block in adjusted position, a lateral folding awning arm hingedly mounted upon said hinge bolt for locking said block in adjusted position, an adjusting screw threaded in the lower ear and rotatably swiveled to said block for moving the hinge bolt upon its pivot in an upright plane perpendicular to the normal plane of the arm mounting bracket for vertically adjusting the awning arm, and a lock nut upon said adjusting screw for contact with the end of the lower ear to lock the adjusting screw in adjusted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 581,991 Homan May 4, 1897 1,075,385 Smith Oct. 14, 1913 1,819,400 Anton Aug. 18, 1931 1,824,188 Anton Sept. 22, 1931 2,038,259 Anton Apr. 21, 1936 

